Returning to the untamed Georgia coast

The waters along the Georgia coast are blessed with dolphins, but infested with swamp flies. As we crossed Cumberland Sound after leaving Cumberland Island, the waterway became narrow and meandered like a sidewinder snake through the Georgia marshes -- making the waters calm enough for the dolphins to play but also stagnant enough for the flies to pester us.

There is no sane geometry to the course taken by the network of rivers that form this part of the waterway. Sometimes we could be hundreds of yards in front of a boat and see it heading towards us along the river bend we just passed. These rivers connect yet another network of wide sounds that were luckily relatively calm today.  As we zig zaged through these waters today, many dolphins played along our bow and in our wake -- often jumping high out of the water. We saw many dolphins in this area on the way down as well, but this time around they seemed more comfortable around us -- as if they remembered the last time we passed through and saw no need for caution.

I know we said we would anchor in the same places we anchored at on the way down, but after stopping in Cumberland Island we decided we could go further than Umbrella Creek off Jekyll Sound. So yesterday we stopped in New Teakettle Creek instead, about 50 miles further north. Subsequently, today, when we came to the place we anchored on the way down, Vernon View, we decided we can once again go much further and wound up another 25 miles north on the New River just past the Georgia-South Carolina line.

So we're back in the state we began. This actually didn't even occur to us until we had settled in for the day. After observing the guide and charts closely, we noticed that the Savannah River was the border between the states, something unbeknownst to us as we crossed the river.

On the way down, the area we traversed today was the most treacherous probably along the whole trip, with various wide and windy sounds, and the infamous Florida Passage and Hell Gate. Today the waters had no chop though, and we passed the narrow passages mentioned in high tide. We sort of subconsciously employed a different technique too. On the way down, since it was our first time passing through the area, we payed extra attention to Hell Gate and were consequently petrified when all the dangerous portents we heard about the place turned out to be true. This time around we approached the area with much more leisure, in fact we came to the passage a bit unexpectedly, and ironically passed through it with no trouble at all.

Perhaps a good lesson in life could be learned from these experiences on the waterway: Life takes no patterned course. It's full of twists and turns like the rivers along the Georgia coast. And there's no reason to worry about what's ahead because, as Tom Petty said "Most things I worry about never happen anyway."

Got through toughest part of ICW

Today's leg of our journey took us through perhaps the two toughest parts of the ICW, Hell Gate and Jekyll Creek, Georgia. After leaving last night's anchorage on the Vernon River, we luckily reached Hell Gate at high tide. The small cut links two huge sounds right by the ocean, and the water is only five feet deep in places. To avoid the shoaling on either side of the narrow cut,  you have to zigzag and squeeze between several markers while staying at a relatively low speed, since a boat draws less water when going slow. At the same time though, you have to maintain a fast enough speed to fight the currents. After we passed through with some difficulty, we noticed how appropriately named Hell Gate was.

We then safely passed through most of the major sounds of Georgia, including St. Catherines Sound, Sepolo Sound, Altamaha Sound, Saint Simons, and Jekyll Sound. Before Jekyll Sound though, we came to sneaky little Jekyll Creek at low tide. the water was never deeper  than 13 feet, and the creek itself was never wider than probably 100 feet as we navigated down it.

Just before Saint Simons Sound, two dolphins came and swam beside our boat. We've been trying to get good pictures of at least a few dolphins, but this close and long encounter gave us the chance to take a video. If I don't post it today I will tomorrow.

We found a beautiful anchorage across the Jekyll Sound, called Umbrella Creek. It's surrounded by vast expanses of marshland and has the ocean just off in the distance; serene seclusion.

So in all today we cruised from 8:15 am to 6 pm, covering about 85 miles. Tomorrow we'll be entering Florida, which is about 30 miles away. At this rate we should be in Miami in about five days. From there we will cross over to The Bahamas as soon the weather permits.

Here are some photos from the past few days. All are by Captain Ken except the pelican.

                                               A southern mansion in Isle of Hope, GA. Captain Ken photos

                                                   

                                                                            Osprey on Port Royal, SC Bridge 4/14

                                                                                        Pelican in central SC

                                                                    Parris Island, SC. 

Chillin' after 85 mile, 10 hour trek 4/15

American Cruise Lines' American Star anchored in central Georgia marshes 4/15. We've been playing tag with her down the coast since she left from Charleston, SC. 

Docks at Isle of Hope

Anchored at Upper Rock Creek

The route today was filled with southern plantation homes and docks along the waterway and wide open rivers, as well as some narrow creeks and man made cutoffs. We're now anchored at Upper Rock Creek, about 45 miles down the ICW from Charleston. Like Minim Creek, it's a very remote spot with nothing but marsh all around us. The view of the night sky is majestic, and could even compare to the northern lights they said appeared over New Jersey this evening.

The water around us is between nine to 12 feet, and the marshy shore is about 100 feet away on either side. We were going to go up the creek to deeper water, but the low tide revealed a sandbar that was too large to risk navigating past. After settling in, another dolphin passed right by our boat, and later a small boat with about five people on it passed from up the creek. That seems to be a common sight around here, as are the dolphins.

Being in the middle of nowhere doesn't mean we can't have modern conveniences though. For dinner Captain Ken cooked up pasta with meat sauce, and we watched Raiders of the Lost Arc with power from the generator. We have the peace and quiet of camping with the creature comforts of our own home.

Tomorrow we will cruise past Beufort and Port Royal, SC before crossing the Georgia border. We don't know exactly where we'll anchor or when we'll settle in because another storm is forecast for the evening tomorrow. The idea is to be settled in well before that.

Bye Bye Barefoot Marina, Bahamas here we come

We left at about 7 a.m. this morning with the sunrise behind us, navigated through some early fog and had mostly clear skies all the way down to our Day 1 anchorage spot, Minim Creek, about 60 miles down the Intracoastal Waterway from Barefoot Marina. So, we’re finally underway.

Minim Creek is a very secluded area with the only sign of civilization being the flashing red marker on the ICW about a half mile away. The creek is the ideal spot to drop anchor off the waterway. The area we’re in is protected from the winds by trees on both sides, and the depth is about ten feet.

While we were looking for just the right spot to end our day, a pod of dolphins swam around our boat. One actually came right next to the bow as we were getting ready to drop anchor.

While en route to our destination, about 20 miles from Barefoot Marina, we saw two swans swim right by the boat and then come together to touch beaks, their necks and beaks thereby forming the shape of a heart. It was a sight for our weary eyes as we were just starting to really wake up.

The wind was at between 15 to 20 knots for most of the way, but around Georgetown, SC the ocean's current increased our speed by about 2 knots, bringing us up to 10 at times when we only set the throttle at 8 knots.

So we cruised about 60 miles in approximately 7 hours, arriving at Minim Creek at 2 p.m. It’s been a long day and we’re running on generator power, so I have to log off now. Keep following our travels. We feel as if you’re cruising with us. Tomorrow's destination is Charleston, about 50 miles away. The distance is shorter than today's but the weather is expected to be a bit stormy tomorrow, so that will probably slow us down a bit.

                                            The ICW around Bucksport. Captain Ken photos

Cruising on the ICW

Combo Bridge between Myrtle Beach and Bucksport

Swan along the ICW

Looking out from our first anchorage at Minim Creek

Dolphins on the waterway

The question "When are you leaving?" can be taken the wrong way. It's not like the person asking wants you to leave. They're usually just excited about the adventure you're about to embark on. But Captain Ken and I have received the question so many times that we're beginning to wonder why people are so curious. Well, for the record, every time we even entertain the thought of leaving port, something new pops up that causes a delay. It's never anything alarming. We just want to make sure the boat is in the best condition possible before heading out, because you never know what could happen on the long, isolated parts of the waterway or in the open ocean.

Something interesting happened in the marina today. For the first time that anyone we talked to knows about, two dolphin came into the waterway right by the marina, right outside our boat actually.

Photo courtesy of Captain Ken

So life in the marina has its comforts and a few surprises every now and then. When we embark the comforts will be fewer for quite a while, but I'm sure there will be many more surprises.